Kia reveals official image of Sportage SUV

The Sportage will be launched globally later this year

Kia Corporation on Tuesday revealed official images of the all-new and fifth generation Sportage SUV.

“Reinventing the Sportage gave our talented design teams a tremendous opportunity to do something new; to take inspiration from the recent brand relaunch and introduction of EV6 to inspire customers through modern and innovative SUV design. With the all-new Sportage, we didn’t simply want to take one step forward but instead move on to a different level in the SUV class,” commented Karim Habib, Senior Vice-President and Head of Global Design Centre.

“When you see the Sportage in person, with its sleek but powerfully dynamic stance, and when you sit inside the detailed-oriented cabin with its detailed interior and first-class materials, you’ll see we have achieved those goals and set new benchmarks. In the Sportage, we believe you can see the future of our brand and our products,” he added.

The company said that it is based on five pillars: Joy for Reason, Power to Progress, Technology for Life, Tension for Serenity and Bold for Nature. The last pillar – Bold for Nature – has profoundly influenced the design creation of the all-new Sportage, embodying the natural world and creating a design identity that takes a daring, emotional, modern but organic form.

The all-new Sportage is the result of a collaborative effort between Kia’s main global design network in Korea, Germany, the US, and China.

The elongated grille links Kia’s modern signature Tiger Nose grille to the boomerang-shaped DRLs (daytime running lamps). The side profile of the Sportage has taut lines cutting across pure, clean but refined body surfaces that seamlessly blends the contrasting volumes together.

Representing a first for the Sportage range, a black roof – a different colour paint option to the vehicle’s body – is now available with the new model, helping to accentuate the sporting profile and highlight the architecturally dynamic C-pillar that encompasses a deconstructed look. The addition of a chrome beltline kicks up onto the rear of the Sportage and into the D-pillar.

At the rear, the Sportage maintains its strong road presence with its powerful broad shoulders. The muscular swooping fastback flows into the rear lamps, forming the outline of the rear lamp graphic and the main section of the tailgate. The razor rear lamps are connected by a slim horizontal design.

A large lower graphic bumper casing at the rear uses the same philosophy as the frontal technical black grille.

In the interior, the Sportage has a sculpted integrated curved display with a slim crush touchscreen pad and finely detailed air vents and this forms the nucleus. The arresting curved display sweeps across the front of the Sportage, giving the cockpit great width and depth. Like the air passing through it, the three-dimensional air vents flow within the integrated curved display, reinforcing the Sportage’s contemporary and exquisitely slim cockpit feel.

The high-tech touchscreen pad along with the advanced integrated controller act as the nerve centre for driver and passenger connectivity, functionality and usability needs. Both systems have been created to be easy-to-use, highly intuitive and soft to touch.

Optimally positioned for the driver and front passenger is an ergonomic centre console that combines convenience with luxury. Finished with a high-end gloss, the console provides storage, operating system configuration, cupholders and soft-touch switches, the latter sitting on a raised profile alongside the shift-by-wire transmission dial.

The Sportage is due for global market launch later this year.